SAITAMA, Japan – Alex Caceres overcame an early deficit and finished strong as he continued his bantamweight success with a split-decision victory over promotional newcomer Kyung Ho Kang.

The bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 8 event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It streamed on Facebook ahead of a main card on FUEL TV.

While Caceres struggled with takedowns early in the fight, he soon found a way to combat the Korean fighter’s many trips to the canvas.

Kang took the first round with a series of takedowns set up from a variety of openings. Scrambles after the clinch, missed punches and trip takedowns all allowed Kang to take dominant ground positions, though Caceres was never in any real trouble. Caceres had some success standing, including a nice counter right as time wound down, but Kang dictated the pace and positioning of the round.

Caceres’ escapes continued in the following rounds as Kang nabbed additional takedowns. He even delivered some decent ground and pound in the second round, and he threatened with a guillotine and triangle chokes in the third.

Caceres dominated the action late, which included punches from the mount position and shaking off Kang’s big upkick. The late rally in the final frame ultimately won him fight, and he overcame the early deficit to take the split-decision victory.

The judges scored it 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28 in his favor.

“If you want to be a hero, you need to have your own dream,” Caceres said. “I will be a hero.”